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The amount won’t affect your eligibility as long as it is spent within a year.

Will My Stimulus Check Affect My Social Security Disability Benefits?

Since it arrived in the United States, the novel coronavirus has caused widespread sickness and is responsible for more than 120,000 deaths. It has also caused high rates of unemployment. As a result, the United States government passed the CARES Act. One important component of this bill is a stimulus check for qualified Americans, of up to $1,200 per adult and $500 per child.

If you currently receive disability benefits, you may be worried about how this stimulus payment affects you, as many disability programs consider recipients’ income and assets for eligibility purposes. As an experienced Social Security disability benefits attorney can explain, this economic impact payment will not affect your disability benefits.

The Social Security Administration (SSA) offers two types of benefits for Americans who are unable to work due to a disability: Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI). Of these two programs, only SSI is a needs-based program. This means that the SSA considers applicants’ income and assets when make a decision on benefits.

SSI is limited to individuals who are aged 65 or older, blind, or disabled, and who have limited income and resources. For SSI purposes, income includes money earned from work, free food or shelter, and money received from other sources. Resources include things that a person owns that could be converted to cash.

Determining what income and resources qualify for SSI can be complicated. The strict income and resource limits for this program have raised questions for people on SSI about whether their stimulus check will lead to them being declared ineligible for benefits.

According to the SSA, these economic impact payments will not be considered as income for SSI purposes. The stimulus checks will also be excluded from resources for a period of 12 months. In other words, as long as you spend the money within 12 months, it won’t be counted as a resource. Because SSDI benefits do not examine income or resources, stimulus payments won’t affect eligibility for these benefits.

Because you must have low income to qualify for SSI benefits, anyone who receives this type of disability benefit will be eligible for the full amount of the economic stimulus payment. As long as you don’t hold onto the money (such as by putting it into a savings account), then it won’t be deemed a resource in the future.

Applying for disability benefits can be challenging, with strict rules and confusing methods for determining when a person is too disabled to work and what resources and income counts for SSI. If you are considering filing for disability benefits, a Social Security disability benefits attorney can help. Reach out to PLBH today at (800) 435-7542 or info@plblaw.com to learn more about how we can assist you with the process.